r/Economics • u/joe4942 • 23h ago
Editorial David Rosenberg: Trump’s ‘reciprocal tariffs’ are a con – and investors are now waking up to his bigger ambitions
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/investing/markets/inside-the-market/article-david-rosenberg-trumps-reciprocal-tariffs-are-a-con-and-investors-are/277
u/joe4942 23h ago
David Rosenberg's article critiques President Trump's trade strategy, particularly the flawed "reciprocal tariffs," which he argues unfairly penalize countries with minimal trade barriers against the U.S. rather than achieving true reciprocity. He asserts that trade deficits are not subsidies but a natural result of the U.S.'s position as the largest economy and reserve currency. The article warns that these tariffs could lead to rising prices, reduced consumer spending, and potential recession by disrupting trade relationships.
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u/malinefficient 23h ago
Yes yes yes, all true, but also, this collides with the established narrative that Trump is God's chosen infallible agent of change so get ready for the find out phase of this to take much longer than it should. Also, consider voting out everyone who goes along with his claptrap at the next opportunity, independent of political party.
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u/Just_Some_Statistic 19h ago
Well, first well have to convince 80million people that Trump is not the second coming. Should be easy....
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u/malinefficient 19h ago
If they *really* believe that, they should all offer their daughters to him just like Lot offered his to the angels who came to Sodom. Not impressed so far...
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u/mcslibbin 6h ago
Lot offered his daughters to the crowd outside his house who were trying to bang the angels, not the angels themselves.
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u/MaleficentMusic 6h ago
And he didn't even know they were angels, just that they were male guests. I'm sure Miss Manners would agree that etiquette requires you need to give your daughters to a sexually insatiable mob instead of interrupting your dinner party for your guests.
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u/malinefficient 4h ago
And that's why today's sermon at the Church of The Musty Knave is all about traveling to Mar a Lago to give Donald Trump your beautiful daughters so that he can stay focused on testing America Job style now that God's gambling problem has flared up again. With your thoughts and your prayers (and of course your daughters) you can help win this one last bet God has made with the devil!
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u/Suspicious-Town-7688 19h ago
Jesus stands next to Trump and guides his hand, and has always been in favor of bullying small countries like Cambodia by bombing them into the Stone Age and then penalizing them for trying to sell a bit of what’s left to God’s country.
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u/malinefficient 19h ago
You'd think they'd have gotten the hint from the fig tree incident. Guess not.
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u/Delicious-Help4187 13h ago
I hope I’m wrong but I simply don’t believe people will turn against trump…ever. He could murder a child on live tv and people wouldn’t blame him. This is based on personal experience with someone who died of covid and swore to her last breath the vaccine was poison. 80 million Americans are completely detached from reality to the point they will die before being wrong.
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u/buscuitsANDgravy 18h ago
large budget and trade deficit both need heavy government borrowing. Doge failed to meet spending cut targets (budget deficit). So now tariffs are an attempt to discourage domestic consumption (trade deficit). All this to fund massive tax cuts.
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u/zscan 21h ago
Trump's idea was this: I put tremendous tariffs on them and in return they'll all come begging to me, hats in hand, trembling before my power, and I'll get the best deals ever from them and they'll also bribe me any which way I want. In his view this was going to be a total victory for him and the US.
But guess what: China called the bluff, investors are not happy and despite negotiations probably being the rational choice here, Trump antagonized the whole world. He is not a reliable partner for any trade deals, see Canada and Mexico. By now it would be deadly for any politican to negotiate with Trump and concede anything, because of the public sentiment against Trump and the US.
Trump put the US on course of a recession -without any need for that whatsoever- and the only question is this: who will stop him and when? There is no upside to the current situation. The markets will drop further, especially when the EU reacts to the tariffs and I hope that many other countries join in. If the world sticks together in this, Trump will lose. However, the US doesn't have to lose, only when they stick with Trump.
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u/esotericimpl 13h ago
Congress could easily stop him they just lack the backbone all the emergency bullshit and ability to tariff ad hoc is power vested by congress. They can easily change the law remove the tariffs and override the veto and stop this whenever they want.
But we know congress is useless, all the problems of the presidency is due to congress abdicating its responsibility.
TLDR Congress existing as a rotting corpse of a part of our government is our main problem.
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u/GreenGorilla8232 5h ago
The Republican members of Congress may as well not exist. They're all spineless Trump loyalists who are terrified of him.
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u/esotericimpl 5h ago
Definitely agree but fundamentally all these issues are due to congress being unable to function , you can blame increased partinship, Fox News, right wing media, left wing nimbyism post new deal, and the issue of cloture votes in the senate but it all has to do with congress (which is supposed to be the hulk compared to the other branches ) completely being useless.
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u/Knerd5 2h ago
Congress isn't unable to function, they're choosing not to function. Republicans literally never to anything but pass tax cuts. When they're in power they do nothing and when they're not they stop the democrats from doing anything.
Freeloaders, the lot of them.
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u/esotericimpl 43m ago
I get it, im just saying that is the resolution here, sure the courts could call bullshit on the “emergency” line the Supreme Court did all the time on bidens student loan scheme but we know that won’t happen.
Congress needs to function, the olds need to get out of the way, start clawing back all the power and laws they’ve given the executive over the past 100 years.
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u/JonesinforJohnnies 17h ago
Even if the US were to get rid of Trump, the next two in line are JD Vance and Mike Johnson. It would likely get even worse.
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u/airship_of_arbitrary 14h ago
Second breakfast and third breakfast can also be on the menu.
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u/Notcooldude5 10h ago
Vance would be less willing to carry on the mantle of idiocy having just watched his boss get turfed.
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u/CombinationBitter889 20h ago
China is in straight panic mode 🤣
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u/Dash6666 19h ago
Funny to see the treasury secretary in panic mode basically begging for negotiations now that most other countries told us to go get fucked.
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u/StudioAudienceMember 18h ago
China lied about being in a tariff pact with Korea and Japan against the US. The rest of the world can't keep China's factories running without US customers
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u/Pension2options 13h ago edited 1h ago
Vietnam's offering 0%, Singapore seems to accept their fate, and Australia's phone call wasn't answered. So you yourself could actually use the same tactic on your phone/ISP/streaming providers, just saying.
"China called the bluff," by starting theirs on 4/10, when ours start on 4/9. Gotta admit that's some weird way of calling out a bluff.EDIT: 4/10 Beijing is 4/9 US, so I stand corrected.US was in a trade surplus in 1930s vs China in a trade surplus in 2025. Just saying.
Disclaimer: I am pro-Manifest Destiny 2.0
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u/seemefail 13h ago
What do you think Vietnam could possibly do to buy more from the us than the is buys from them??
The US has nothing
But good luck trying to make $500 sneakers
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u/Pension2options 12h ago edited 12h ago
"What do you think Vietnam could possibly..."
Why ask me when you can get it from the horse's mouth via googling?
...sigh...you still don't know orange man yet? Exaggeration comes with the territory. He doesn't want Nike to relocate to the US--no Americans gonna want to work in a sweatshop condition...nor is it legal. Dude wants high-priced manufacturing back--even if he can only get one, Cheetos will claim, "See, what a big, beautiful plant I got y'all. There's nothing like it, they say."
Tl;dr: Hating Trump is a waste of time. See his actions and critique his results, instead. Peace.
EDIT: No downvotes yet? Let's try this: Disclaimer: I am pro-Manifest Destiny 2.0
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u/seemefail 12h ago
So far the results is everyone’s investments are going to shit. Americans are about to start going broke trying to buy toasters.
Peace
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u/zelda1095 5h ago
It hasn't taken long for the masks to come off. Pro manifest destiny = inherently racist and imperialist.
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u/MasterSnacky 4h ago
Source for Vietnam’s offer
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u/Pension2options 2h ago
Basic life skill in 2025: Copy-> Vietnam's offering 0%
And paste into google search bar (I prefer duckduckgo), and hit Enter.
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u/MasterSnacky 2h ago
lol I did google it. I googled it before you told me to. I asked you because right now the only source for this is Trump himself claiming it. So basically you’re just taking Trump exactly at his word. Maybe Vietnam will come down in their tariffs, they’re saying they’ll negotiate, but “ending all tariffs” is just Trump talking.
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u/Pension2options 1h ago
If that's the case, then I made a hasty assumption; my apologies.
Here's cheese puff's quote: "...Vietnam wants to cut their Tariffs down to ZERO if they are able to make an agreement with the US." Focus on the "if."
So where did you get “ending all tariffs” from?
Do I need to explain that "cut their Tariffs down to ZERO" =/= “ending all tariffs”? If you want, let me know.
Big picture: We are paying $3 Billion a DAY, yes, a DAY just in interest. Let. That. Sink. In. Is taking over Greenland a joke now? Is annexing Canada a joke now? Submit to Manifest Destiny 2.0.
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u/Helmidoric_of_York 21h ago
Someone should ask him if he'll stop buying things made in other countries - like immigrant labor he uses in his hotels, and all of the products he sells to his MAGA followers, like his red hats and his ties made in China and the French wine he sells in his restaurants and bars. Ivanka has trademarks there, what kind of damage is she doing to harm Americans by buying foreign products and contributing to our trade deficit? In Trumpwold, anyone who buys anything made in a foreign country is hurting America.
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u/LARufCTR 22h ago
Trump has relied so long on ignorant Americans accepting everything he has to say as "true". And smart Americans laughing and saying what an idiot he is...well its no longer laughing time as the idiot has put in motion a poison pill that will now destroy the US Economy...he knows people will protest and basically loose their shit..and if not enough crazy be prepared for some False Flag action here...this will allow him to declare Martial Law...he can now cancel mid-term elections and continue to further erode the rule of law, the power of congress and finally take a bow while wiping his ass with the Constitution and then smearing it in America's face....From Freedom to Fascism in less than 100-Days...well done America....you are now "Home of the STUPID"
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u/FallAspenLeaves 20h ago
Yep, Trump said we will never have to vote again.
Sadly, many didn’t listen.
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u/lochmoigh1 16h ago
I agree trump is absolutely going to get into a war towards the end of his term to stay in power. He will compare himself to zelensky
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u/ammonium_bot 16h ago
basically loose their shit..and
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u/NinjaKoala 15h ago
I dunno, Bot, he really deserves a whole bunch of people loosing their shit in his direction...
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u/ammonium_bot 5h ago
people loosing their
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u/Spinoza42 20h ago
What a nothing burger of an article. Yes, Trump wants no trade deficits. And that makes no sense. And will inevitably lead to a US debt default. And yet his cabinet went along with this. Are they just insanely loyal to a moron?
No. Project 2025 aims to deconstruct the United States. A default, directly caused by executive orders, is the shortest path to that.
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u/Weird-Ad7562 15h ago
Project 2025 is the complete destruction of the US and us.
Please watch this video. It explains everything.
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u/mrroofuis 23h ago
Dammit. If you're going to post an article, please post a nonpaywall version in the comments.
Globe and Mail is always paywalled
I'm interested in knowing "what are the bigger ambitions " in the headline
To me, everything seems haphazard and lazy. His people literally used ChatGPT to come up with to reciprocal tariffs formula
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u/TheGoodCod 22h ago
Dammit. If you're going to post an article, please post a nonpaywall version in the comments.Globe and Mail is always paywalled. I'm interested in knowing "what are the bigger ambitions " in the headline. To me, everything seems haphazard and lazy. His people literally used ChatGPT to come up with to reciprocal tariffs formula
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u/OddlyFactual1512 21h ago
Why don't you to archive.ph, get a non-paywall link and post it here instead of complaining? It's really easy to do, and someone already archived it, so there is no need to wait for the non-paywall version.
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u/watch-nerd 22h ago
Bigger ambition:
Reduce US trade deficit to zero
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u/ArtPeers 13h ago
How? Reducing consumption?
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u/watch-nerd 13h ago
It's not my plan, but using multiple levers.
The recent WH statements now saying reducing trade deficits is a priority, not just tariff equivalency.
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u/grimmalkin 10h ago
Copied from tha alt national parks FB:
We know this post is long, but it’s important to read to understand what’s going on. A lot of people are asking, “Why is Trump just out golfing while things are falling apart?” It’s simple: the emergency isn’t something he’s reacting to — it’s something he’s building.
Trump recently declared a national economic emergency under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) — granting himself sweeping authority over international trade by labeling foreign economic practices an “unusual and extraordinary threat.”
But here’s the real play: by declaring a national emergency, Trump didn’t just respond to a crisis — he created one. And in doing so, he unlocked access to over 120 statutory powers scattered throughout federal law. Many of these powers have nothing to do with trade — and everything to do with expanding presidential authority inside the U.S.
What This Move Enables: Expanded Domestic Powers
- Control of Domestic Communications
47 U.S.C. §606(c): Allows the president to take control of, shut down, or regulate wire and radio communications — including the internet, social media platforms, broadcast networks, and telecom infrastructure — in the name of national defense. Originally intended for wartime, this Cold War-era law remains on the books.
Asset Freezing and Financial Surveillance
Under IEEPA and related laws, the president can freeze the assets and bank accounts of individuals or organizations accused of aiding foreign threats. These powers are vague and can be stretched to include domestic political groups, journalists, or activists — especially if they’re perceived as having foreign ties or influence.
Domestic Military Deployment
Under the Insurrection Act (10 U.S.C. §§ 251–255), the president can deploy active-duty U.S. military to enforce laws or suppress civil unrest within the country. In certain scenarios, this can be done without state governor consent — especially if the president claims state authorities are failing to uphold federal law.
Emergency Detention Powers (Non-Citizens)
The Alien Enemies Act (50 U.S.C. §21) — a law dating back to 1798 — allows the president to detain or restrict the movement of non-citizens from nations deemed hostile. The criteria for “hostile” can be broad and undefined during a declared emergency.
Control of Energy and Transportation
Under laws like 42 U.S.C. §6272 and others, the president can redirect or restrict domestic fuel production, electricity usage, or energy transportation. Additionally, 49 U.S.C. §40106(b) allows the president to limit, reroute, or suspend civil aviation, giving the executive branch near-total control over U.S. airspace in a crisis.
Suspension of Labor Regulations
During a declared emergency, the president can waive federal labor regulations and override contract protections. This includes removing limits on hours, wages, and workplace safety for federal contractors and any industries deemed vital to national security.
National Security Letters & Warrantless Surveillance
Emergency declarations expand the reach and use of National Security Letters (NSLs) — tools that let federal agencies demand financial, telecom, and internet records without a warrant. These also come with gag orders, preventing the recipient (e.g., Google or a bank) from disclosing that they’re under surveillance.
Why it Matters?
Even when legal domestic powers are limited, a national emergency lets the president:
- Frame the issue as a national security crisis, justifying aggressive action
- Bypass Congress and the courts by acting unilaterally
- Sway public opinion using fear, urgency, and patriotic rhetoric
Bottom Line
IEEPA is focused on foreign threats — but once the emergency is declared, the president taps into a hidden arsenal of domestic control powers. What began as a trade issue could quickly shift into civil liberties restrictions, mass surveillance, or even crackdowns under the legal shield of an “emergency.”
This isn’t just about tariffs. It’s about redefining the boundaries of executive power. Imagine if this economic crisis keeps getting worse — the amount of power he will gain.
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u/Icy_Celery6886 18h ago
Everyone is viewing events through a prism of the established paradigm. This is a terrible mistake. Trying to rationalize the irrational.
This is a ideological revolution. It does not matter to Trump and his cadre if it is logical or economically beneficial. Just like Pol Pots return to year zero or Maos Great Leap forward / Cultural Revolution.
It is his mission from god proven by his failed assassination.
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u/Weird-Ad7562 15h ago
Here is the archive.org version of the article.
No Paywall.
Here are nonsense words to make the word count to post it.
They are counting down all the best for each day of the US Constitution of America to the United Kingdom in a neighborhood of the US Constitution of America.
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u/Ok_Buffalo_8183 17h ago
Here is the cbo report on tariffs from December for the Senate and Congress. You are welcome to read it. Just copy and paste into your search engine and the PDF will come up. It's a light read but has some nuggets of information. 61112-tariffs.pdf enjoy reading the future of what is to come. This was based on 10 percent tariffs so just calculate the magnitudes of increase.
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